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The record winner Rafael Nadel is in the final of the French Open for the 13th time. He defeated Diego Schwartzman 6: 3, 6: 3, 7: 6. In Sunday’s final he will face Novak Djokovic, who wobbled for two sets against Stefanos Tsitsipas but did not fall.
The Spanish Rafael Nadal is back in the final of the French Tennis Open. In his first tournament since late February, the 34-year-old advanced to the Roland Garros final on Friday with a 6: 3, 6: 3, 7: 6 (0) victory in the semifinals against Argentine Diego Schwartzman ( 12). On Sunday (3pm Eurosport live) will be his thirteenth title at Roland Garros.
His rival is Serbian first seed Novak Djokovic, who had to fight Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (5) more than he thought. 6: 3, 6: 2, 5: 7, 4: 6, 6: 1 – the Serb staggered briefly and never threatened to fall. A true tennis classic will take place on Sunday. It is the fifth final for the Serbian, and also the third comparison with Nadal. The Iberian has not lost a final in Paris so far. Djokovic won just once, in 2016 against Andy Murray.
It’s the 56th duel between the two. Djokovic has the racket in front with 29:26 wins. But everything is different in Paris. In 2012 and 2014 Nadal won the direct final duel. What will happen in 2020?
Again and again Nadal: 101 games, 99 wins
“To be here in the final once again is incredible. It’s a very nice moment,” Nadal said in his short speech in French on Philippe Chatrier court, which is sparsely packed due to crown conditions. With the victory in 3:09 hours against the quarter-final defender Dominic Thiem, who was only 1.70 meters tall, the Mallorcan left-hander cemented his specialty in the red ash of the Bois de Boulogne. In his 101st French Open match, he celebrated the 99th victory.
With his 20th Grand Slam win on Sunday starting at 3pm, Nadal would tie with Swiss Roger Federer, who has now finished his season. “I knew today was going to be difficult,” Nadal said, “but I’m glad I made it.”
Schwartzman initially looked a bit tired after his five-set match against Thiem for more than five hours. The first game of the first set lasted 14 minutes before Nadal served. They made the break at 2-0, but both lost service before Nadal finished the first round after 67 minutes with a 6: 3.
The fact that Nadal had to accept the only loss to Schwartzman at the Rome Masters did not seem to affect him. The Iberian controlled the rallies, had only a few phases of weakness and impressively underlined why he is the best clay court player in the world. When Schwartzman broke in the third set, Nadal immediately responded with a re-break.
But the 28-year-old Schwartzman, eighth in the next world rankings and thus in the top ten for the first time, fought back and held up to 6: 6 against him. In the tie break, however, Nadal triumphed and did not allow his rival to win a single point.
(WHAT / dpa)
